During your summer placement with Boots, you will be working mainly in the dispensary and at the healthcare counter
Are you thinking about where to do your summer placement? Sanda Maung has recently completed her summer placement with Boots and gives an account of her experience and what she learnt
By the end of the third year of the MPharm course, you should have a pretty good idea of the different sectors where you could do your preregistration training. However, before you start making any decisions, it is a good idea to gain some experience through summer placements. I recently completed a community placement with Boots and have gained valuable experiences into community pharmacy and insight into the roles of community pharmacists.
What does the placement involve?
The summer placement programme is structured to provide you with experience that is relevant to your academic year of study. During the first few days, an introduction is given regarding your store, your tutor and members of the team you will be working with. A “welcome day” is organised to give you an opportunity to meet and network with other students who are also undertaking a placement in different stores.
At this welcome day, you gain an idea of what the placement involves and an idea of what work needs to be completed during the placement. It also gives you a chance to share your ideas and thoughts with regional directors and staff from head office.
A workbook folder is provided at the start of your placement, which provides a summary of what the placement entails, along with any additional material you may need throughout your learning experience.
You are expected to work mostly in the dispensary and at the healthcare counter. However, since it is your experience, you need to take the initiative to look out for new opportunities where you are able to gain the necessary competencies. If there are any problems or suggestions, the tutor is there to support you, listen and provide advice.
When you and your tutor have a review, you have the chance to show your abilities and strengths, which might give you an increased chance of being offered a preregistration placement in the future. It is important to note that you must complete a summer placement with Boots in order to apply for a preregistration placement with it.
The project
A project is assigned to you and this needs to be completed within the duration of your placement. For my project, I had to decide which areas of the store to analyse and to suggest changes to the store that would help increase customer satisfaction.
The findings of the project are written into a report and presented to other students at a session towards the end of the placement.
What I have learnt and experienced
Completing this placement has given me the chance to update my knowledge and skills, which will help me with my future career as a pharmacist. I found completing continuing professional development records a useful experience because it gave me a chance to identify knowledge gaps and allowed me to reflect on what actions to take in order to develop my knowledge to fulfil necessary competencies for the placement.
Additionally, learning how to complete CPD records will help me in the future since CPD recording is compulsory for practising pharmacists.
By studying modules in the workbook, completing e-tests and reading a book (which was provided) on over-the-counter products, I have learnt more about OTC products and illnesses. I am now more confident to give advice and counsel patients regarding their medicines and their health. I have also improved my communication skills and learnt what action to take in certain situations in a community pharmacy.
Additionally, I had the chance to gain more experience with calculations through calculating dosages from prescriptions while working in the dispensary.
Some interesting experiences I have had while on my placement include measuring out methadone and counselling addicts under the supervision of the pharmacist. I also had the opportunity to shadow the pharmacist to see how a medicines use review is carried out, and sit in on an emergency hormonal contraception consultation. I got to see how pharmacy technicians make up monitored dosage systems and experienced how a smoking cessation clinic is run. I also learnt about some other services Boots offers.
Conclusion
I would encourage students who are interested in community pharmacy to apply for a summer placement with Boots. It provides training and support that will help you in your future career as pharmacist.
The placement will also allow you to see what the company’s goals are. Doing this placement has given me a better understanding of what community pharmacy entails.
For more information about the Boots summer placement programme, visit http://www.boots.jobs/spp/
Acknowledgements Ashmeela Nebhaw, my placement tutor, for the help and support she provided during my placement. Caroline Boroshade, the store manager of Boots in Brighton Hill, who gave me the opportunity to complete my placement. Staff members, Ann kiesel, Angela Glayshel, Claude Manegat, Alison Barwell, Jane Darker and Pat Harris for supporting me during my placement and contributed to my learning experience.
Sanda Maung is a third-year pharmacy student at the University of Reading and student blogger for Tomorrow’s Pharmacist
